Barbed fittings are used to connect various types of conduit together and to attach irrigation components to tubing. Conventional fittings are typically designed to have barbed ends that allow for the fitting to be inserted into an end of the conduit, with the barbs resisting separation of the fitting and conduit once inserted therein. Unfortunately, the diameter of existing fittings and angle of barbs used with same often make it relatively difficult to insert the fittings into the conduit. This difficulty is often increased because such items are used around fluid applications and can become slippery due to the presence of fluid. More particularly, these fittings are often difficult to install because a relatively high insertion force is needed to press the fitting into the tube, and the fittings typically only have a small surface area for the user to grip the fitting. A conventional fitting is illustrated in FIG. 12, which includes an outer barb diameter “D” of sixty-eight hundredths of an inch (0.680 in.) and a barb angle X of twenty-four degrees (24°). Other conventional barbed fittings have comparable barb diameters and angles to the fitting of FIG. 12; while still others have different dimensions, but similar configurations.
A common form of flexible tubing used with such fittings is XF™ series dripline provided by the assignee of this application, Rain Bird Corporation of Azusa, Calif. (U.S.). The average insertion and extraction (or pull out) forces of the conventional fitting illustrated in FIG. 12 in XF™ dripline is fifty-eight pounds force (58 lbs.) and one hundred twenty pounds force (120 lbs.), respectively. Although this insertion force is tolerable, and less than other tubing available on the market, it is still desirable to lower the insertion force required to install the fitting into XF™ dripline, as well as other brands of irrigation tubing.
To assist users in installing barbed fittings into conduit, some fitting insertion tools have been provided. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,588 issued Jul. 19, 1988 to Churchich discloses pliers for inserting the ends of hoses onto hose fittings, such as for pressure cylinders, manifolds and the like. Unfortunately, the tool requires a complicated scissors type pivot or hinged action, requires good hand strength for squeezing the handles of the pliers together and is only shown for use with hose fittings having a threaded end that is already secured in a house wall, or the like, and having a hexagonal or other polygonal head or base which the lower jaw of the pliers can engage to drive the other jaw towards the fitting. The tool also requires operator action that is not in coaxial alignment with the direction the operator wishes the fitting or conduit to travel in, but rather offset from this alignment which makes the insertion task that much more awkward and difficult.
Another pliers type tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,262 issued Jun. 24, 2003 to Myers. This tool is used for installing barb emitters on irrigation tubing; however, the jaws of the tool are used to hold and punch conduit to create a hole for installing an emitter barb. Three studs are mounted on a handle of the tool which can be used to press the emitter barb into the hole of the conduit. Unfortunately, these studs only engage the emitter barb as guides or stops and do not secure the emitter barb to the tool. Thus, an operator must hold the emitter barb in place with one hand and operate the tool with the other hand, thereby leaving the conduit either unattended or poorly attended because the operator is trying to hold both the conduit and fitting with one hand. Like the Churchich pliers, the tool requires operator action that is not in coaxial alignment with the direction the operator wishes the fitting or conduit to travel in, but rather offset from this alignment which makes the insertion task that much more awkward and difficult. In addition and like the Churchich pliers, the tool only can only be used to install conduit on one side of the fitting as both disclose fittings that are already connected on their other ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,708 issued Aug. 16, 2005 to Larock, discloses a hand-held device for selectively attaching a water drip system connector to a water drip system conduit; however, the tool can only be used to install straight coupling type fittings with an uninterrupted, constant outer diameter, and circumference shaft located between the barbed ends and not the variety of fitting types currently used in the marketplace (e.g., elbow, tee, adaptor, etc.). Larock further requires the operator to hold the tool coaxially (e.g., like a flashlight) and, thus, lacks an effective gripping and drive surface that the operator can use to drive the fitting into the conduit using the same motion and direction of travel as the operator wishes the fitting to travel in.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,496 issued Feb. 11, 2003 to Ekron iscloses a tool with first and second elements hingedly interconnected which can be closed around a variety of different fittings to insert the fittings into conduit. Unfortunately, the tool requires the opening and shutting of tool parts in order to grip and insert the fitting and/or in order to remove, re-orientate and re-insert the fitting into the tool to install the fitting in conduit. The tool also requires careful alignment of the fitting and feeding of conduit through specific openings formed in the hinged elements in order to use the tool to insert fittings into conduit that already have sections of conduit connected to other ends of the fitting. Ekron, like Larock, further requires the operator to hold the tool coaxially and, thus, lacks an effective gripping and drive surface that the operator can use to drive the fitting into the conduit using the same motion and direction of travel as the operator wishes the fitting to travel in.
Therefore, there is a desire for improved fittings and insertion tools that aid with the insertion of such fittings in conduit.